It seems trivial on the surface in light of the direct and tangible horribleness that’s celebrated in the culture, but we largely no longer sing or make music together. So many churches have drifted away from congregational singing to Christian U2 and laser lights and the ever growing non-church population isn’t getting up on Sunday mornings for a sing-along either.
The lack of communal music-making is both a direct reflection of the decay and a cause.
Texans get a couple of Saturdays a year for the Eyes and I guess baseball fans get a minute or two of Take Me Out to the Ballgame, but that’s really not enough. The unrepentant band and choir nerds are still playing and singing in community groups, but there aren’t enough of them to change the culture. Concert-goers get to sing along with Taylor Swift or whatever, but even that is done under the banner of an “audience” consuming an event.
I’ve long thought that a nationwide weekly sing-along movement would be transformative to our culture. It doesn’t matter if the songs are good or meaningful — mmm Bop would make a fine start as any — as long as we do it together. Just give me 30-60 minutes a week of the Mr. Rogers songbook and watch that meanness drift away.
Working together to make a thing that is gone as soon as it’s made, that you can’t sell or monetize because it’s simply something we did together is antithetical to our culture.